The HLRI, a joint venture between the University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, aims to focus on collaboration between research and its clinical use in treating patients for chronic diseases such as heart attacks, cystic fibrosis, atrial fibrillation and pulmonary hypertension.

In the UK, one in every four deaths is caused by cardiovascular disease and 20% of deaths by respiratory disease. Despite a growing awareness of risk factors, such as smoking and poor diet, the prevalence of such diseases is increasing.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease causes nearly 18 million deaths per year, mostly due to heart attacks and stroke, with respiratory disease just behind. The combined worldwide cost of this is more than £840billion each year.

“The Heart and Lung Research Institute is an incredible opportunity to bring together the University’s expertise in cardiovascular and respiratory science and Royal Papworth Hospital’s expertise in treating heart and lung disease,” said Professor Nick Morrell from the University of Cambridge, who is Interim Director of the Institute.

“Heart and lung diseases affect many millions of people worldwide and the numbers are growing. Institutes such as ours, focused on these big health challenges, are urgently needed. The discoveries made by our researchers will deliver major benefits to the public through improvements in public health, new approaches to diagnosing and treating disease, and new medicines.”

Features of the Institute include: a new laboratory space; a clinical research facility; a collaboration space for link-ups between academia, healthcare providers and industry; and education facilities such as seminar rooms and a lecture theatre. It will also include a special 10-bed facility where the first-in-patient studies of new treatments can be conducted.

Professor John Wallwork, Chairman of Royal Papworth, added: “The Heart and Lung Research Institute will mean new treatments will be created, tested and delivered to tackle the biggest causes of premature death in the world all on one site. It will also allow us to provide much more education and training to clinicians tackling heart and lung disease worldwide.

“This will be a huge step forward and demonstrates one of the reasons Royal Papworth Hospital moved to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus – to collaborate with the best researchers in the world to help to save lives. Through the Heart and Lung Research Institute, we will be able to make even quicker progress in bringing tomorrow’s treatments to today’s patients.”

Funding for HLRI is being provided by the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, which has contributed £30m, the University of Cambridge and the Wolfson Foundation. The British Heart Foundation has donated £10m towards the project and Royal Papworth Hospital Charity has launched its largest ever appeal to raise £5m.

Professor Wallwork added: “Every day at Royal Papworth Hospital we see the positive impact that research can have for patients with heart and lung disease, both in terms of improving life expectancy and quality of life. We have already received a number of generous donations from Royal Papworth Hospital patients and their families in support of the Heart and Lung Research Institute and will be working hard to raise additional funds over the next few years.”

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation said: “Through this funding we will help create a fantastic centre that will have a key role in driving forward our ambitious programme of heart and circulatory research. By bringing together world-leading scientists it will enable exciting opportunities for collaboration between researchers from different disciplines. And it will also accelerate the transformation of discoveries in the laboratory to treatments available at patients’ bedside.

“This grant is one of the largest the BHF has ever made and we have only been able to make this investment because of the incredible generosity of the public.”

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust has also committed to raise up to £5million to fund the Cystic Fibrosis Innovation Hub, which launched last year and will transfer to the new building once it has been completed. AstraZeneca will pursue integrated research programmes with the Institute to maximise translational impact.

Groundwork began back in October 2019 with construction starting in January 2020. Piling work for the 22m deep foundations is currently underway, including the formation of a tunnel, which will link the HLRI to neighbouring Royal Papworth Hospital.

There are currently 35 people working on the site with that number due to reach more than 150 at the peak of construction, which is set for completion in early 2022.

Press release from Royal Papworth Hospital.

The ancestral remains, collected in the mid-to-late 19th century, previously formed part of the Duckworth Laboratory Collection in the University’s Department of Archaeology. The Duckworth Laboratory is one of the largest research repositories of human and non-human primate skeletal remains in the world.

Professor Stephen J Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge said: “The University of Cambridge is honoured to be able to return the iwi kūpuna to their ancestral home. The iwi kūpuna came to be in Cambridge many decades ago and it is only appropriate that we now do what we can to help them complete their journey. I am sorry that their journey home has been so long interrupted but I hope they may now travel in peace.”

Sylvia Hussey, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Ka Pouhana (Chief Executive Officer) said: “OHA continues to prioritise the international repatriation of iwi kūpuna, moepū (funerary possessions) and mea kapu (sacred objects) and is pleased that this effort was successful and that the team of experts assembled will continue the sacred work to restore our ancestral Hawaiian foundation.”

The ceremony at the Department of Archaeology was attended by senior officers and members of the University and a visiting delegation from Hawaii.

The decision to repatriate the iwi kūpuna was taken by the University’s Human Remains Advisory Panel following an application by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The new tools, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, will help scientists design more efficient and safer battery systems for grid-scale energy storage. In addition, the technique may be applied to other types of batteries and electrochemical cells to untangle the complex reaction mechanisms that occur in these systems, and to detect and diagnose faults.

The researchers tested their techniques on organic redox flow batteries, promising candidates to store enough renewable energy to power towns and cities, but which degrade too quickly for commercial applications. The researchers found that by charging the batteries at a lower voltage, they were able to significantly slow the rate of degradation, extending the batteries’ lifespan. The results are reported in the journal Nature.

Batteries are a vital piece of the transition away from fossil fuel-based sources of energy. Without batteries capable of grid-scale storage, it will be impossible to power the economy using solely renewable energy. And lithium-ion batteries, while suitable for consumer electronics, don’t easily scale up to a sufficient size to store enough energy to power an entire city, for instance. Flammable materials in lithium-ion batteries also pose potential safety hazards. The bigger the battery, the more potential damage it could cause if it catches fire. 

Redox flow batteries are one possible solution to this technological puzzle. They consist of two tanks of electrolyte liquid, one positive and one negative, and can be scaled up just by increasing the size of the tanks, making them highly suitable for renewable energy storage. These room-sized, or even building-sized, non-flammable batteries may play a key role in future green energy grids.

Several companies are currently developing redox flow batteries for commercial applications, most of which use vanadium as the electrolyte. However, vanadium is expensive and toxic, so battery researchers are working to develop a redox flow battery based on organic materials which are cheaper and more sustainable. However, these molecules tend to degrade quickly.

“Since the organic molecules tend to break down quickly, it means that most batteries using them as electrolytes won’t last very long, making them unsuitable for commercial applications,” said Dr Evan Wenbo Zhao from Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry, and the paper’s first author. “While we’ve known this for a while, what we haven’t always understood is why this is happening.”

Now, Zhao and his colleagues in Professor Clare Grey’s research group in Cambridge, along with collaborators from the UK, Sweden and Spain, have developed two new techniques to peer inside organic redox flow batteries in order to understand why the electrolyte breaks down and improve their performance.

Using ‘real time’ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies, a sort of functional ‘MRI for batteries’, and methods developed by Professor Grey’s group, the researchers were able to read resonance signals from the organic molecules, both in their original states and as they degraded into other molecules. These ‘operando’ NMR studies of the degradation and self-discharge in redox flow batteries provide insights into the internal underlying mechanisms of the reactions, such as radical formation and electron transfers between the different redox-active species in the solutions.

“There are few in situ mechanistic studies of organic redox flow batteries, systems that are currently limited by degradation issues,” said Grey. “We need to understand both how these systems function and also how they fail if we are going to make progress in this field.”

The researchers found that under certain conditions, the organic molecules tended to degrade more quickly. “If we change the charge conditions by charging at a lower voltage, the electrolyte lasts longer,” said Zhao. “We can also change the structure of the organic molecules so that they degrade more slowly. We now understand better why the charge conditions and molecular structures matter.”

The researchers now want to apply their NMR setup on other types of organic redox flow batteries, as well as on other types of next-generation batteries, such as lithium-air batteries.

“We are excited by the wide range of potential applications of this method to monitor a variety of electrochemical systems while they are being operated,” said Grey.

For example, the NMR technique will be used to develop a portable battery ‘health check’ device to diagnose its condition.

“Using such a device, it could be possible to check the condition of the electrolyte in a functioning organic redox flow battery and replace it if necessary,” said Zhao. “Since the electrolyte for these batteries is inexpensive and non-toxic, this would be a relatively straightforward process, prolonging the life of these batteries.”

The research was funded in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Shell.

Reference:
Evan Wenbo Zhao et al. ‘In situ NMR metrology reveals reaction mechanisms in redox flow batteries.’ Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2081-7

Family days, art exhibitions, inspiring speakers and talks will explore the experiences of women, the barriers they have faced and how these barriers have been overcome. The events will also celebrate the efforts of a new generation of women demanding the recognition they deserve.

More information about the activities and events is available through the links provided:

Thursday 5 March, 2.30pm to 5pm - International Women's Day Event - Roger Needham Building, Norwich Auditorium, West Cambridge Site

The University of Cambridge Information Services and Association of Project Management Women are collaborating to celebrate International Women's Day 2020.

An afternoon of diverse speakers and talks includes Professor Mateja Jamnik, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge, and Specialist Adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on AI, and Dr Antonia Sudkamper, Researcher on gender equality and diversity, Cambridge Assessment, and founder of the award-winning website Equilibrium.

The event is open to all professionals and will welcome both men and women.

More information is available at this link

Friday 6 March, 10am to 2pm - International Women's Day at Cambridge University Hospitals – The Hexagon, Frank Lee Centre, Addenbrooke’s Hospital

All are welcome to join a celebration of inspiring women with a day of talks, stalls and networking, including a talk and Q&A with Dr Hannah Barham-Brown, junior doctor, BMA Council member, and disability advocate, and Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, Chief Midwifery Officer, NHS England, Professor of Midwifery at King's College London and London South Bank University.

More information is available at this link

Saturday 7 March, 2pm to 4pm – Celebrating Women in Science and Conservation - Museum of Zoology, Discovery Space and Galleries, Downing Street

A celebration of the amazing women working to understand and better protect the world around us. Hear from the women at the forefront of zoology and conservation with a series of talks for International Women's Day.

More information is available at this link

Sunday 8 March, 3pm - International Women's Day Talk – The University Centre, Granta Place, Mill Lane

The Cambridge University India Society will present its annual speakers event for 2020. This year’s focus will be on women’s rights in India and the wider world. Gates PhD Scholars Saloni Atal (Christ’s College) and Sandile Mtetwa (Peterhouse) will be delivering their talk based on their respective research on women in India and Zimbabwe.

More information is available at this link

Sunday 8 March, 3pm to 9.30pm - International Women's Day by New Hall Art Collection - Murray Edwards College

The launch of the new Femfolio exhibition as well as lots more activities in celebration of International Women's Day.

The Femfolio comprises 20 works by the leading women artists who were central to the feminist art movement in the 1970s. Artists include Emma Amos, Eleanor Antin, Nancy Azara, Betsy Damon, Mary Beth Edelson, Lauren Ewing, Harmony Hammond, Joyce Kosloff, Diane Neeumaier, Faith Ringgold, Miriam Schapiro, Carolee Schneemann, Joan Semmel, Slyvia Sleigh, Joan Snyder, Nancy Spero, May Stevens, Athena Tasha, June Wayne, and Martha Wilson.

The event also includes a discussion on being a BME woman artist, led by artist Permindar Kaur, a Music and Words event led by the joint Churchill and Murray Edwards Choir, with an address by Murray Edwards Fellow Dr Lucy Delap on 'Women's Futurity', and a screening at 8pm of Frida.

More information is available at this link

Monday 9 March, 9am to 7.30pm - Celebrating 40 years of Women at Queens': Conference - Queens’ College

This is a free one-day conference to celebrate the past 40 years of Women at Queens' and discuss ideas for the future. Please note that the first four sessions are only open to current Queens' students, Fellows and staff; only the final session - Dr Hannah Dawson in conversation with Olivia Laing -  is open to the public (non-Queens' members can book for that through a different Eventbrite page).

More information is available at this link

Monday 9 March to Saturday 14 March, 10am to 4pm – 24 Portraits: recovering and reimagining women’s labour - Department of Pathology, Tennis Court Road

Artist Emma Copley has created an immersive, site-specific, painted portrait installation in order to celebrate and address the representation of women who currently work in all areas of the Department of Pathology.

More information is available at this link

Saturday 14 March, 11am to 12.30pm & 2pm to 3.30pm – Darwin’s Scientific Women - Cambridge University Library, Milstein Seminar Rooms, West Road

What do Charles Darwin’s letters tell us about the remarkable women who contributed to his scientific work? This workshop will explore how Darwin’s correspondence can help to build up a picture of the lives of women involved in his research and how they challenged what was expected of them. It will include a short presentation and a range of tasks and activities.

This workshop is aimed at children aged 10-14. Please book for the number of children aged 10-14 years attending. Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer but these adults do not need to book a place.

More information is available at this link

Wednesday 18 March, 5.30pm to 8.30pm - Women rising in STEM: biotech and beyond - Anglia Ruskin University, East Road

The Rising Network is proud to present Women Rising in STEM - Biotech and Beyond, an interactive mentoring event spotlighting on inspirational women in STEM.

Women have always played a hugely important role in the advancement of science, yet often their contribution has been hidden from history. This is now changing against a background of increased awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion and the advent of a younger, more confident generation entering into science and demanding the recognition they deserve.

This event will see three inspirational female scientists, tell their stories about their biotech journey, including overcoming obstacles along the way, and how they have – and are – contributing to the body of scientific knowledge while enjoying rich and rewarding careers.

This event is part of the Cambridge Science Festival.

More information is available at this link

Wednesday 18 March, 6pm - Ambition without limits: Women in STEM - Lee Hall, Wolfson College

Professor Jane Clarke, FMedSci FRS, distinguished biophysical chemist and President of Wolfson College, chairs a panel discussing women’s experience in STEM fields. She is joined by four women at various stages of their careers, both from the academy and industry. They will share what barriers they faced in their careers, how they successfully overcame them, and how they pave the way for subsequent generations of women in STEM.

Panelists:

• Dr Susan Galbraith — Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Early Development, Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca
• Dr Tamsin O’Connell — Reader in Isotopic Ecology, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
• Dr Natalie Vriend — Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow at the Cambridge Fluids Network
• Anna Chaplin — PhD candidate in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge

This event is part of the Cambridge Science Festival and part of Wolfson Explores ✱BORDERS 2020.

More information is available at this link

Wednesday 18 March, 5.30pm to 6.45pm – I built that! A celebration of women in construction and real estate - Magdalene College, Cripps Court Auditorium, Chesterton Road

Construction and real estate are the reasons that the built environment exists around us. It requires a collaborative effort - from the drawing board to on-site construction. Historically, the industry has been dominated by men, yet increasingly there are examples of women in the profession, and it is time to celebrate those from the past and those in the present that have helped shape the world around us.

This event will begin with a brief history of women who have helped to design and build the Cambridge that we see today. We will then transition to the present. Five women, including an architect, developer, engineer, planner and plumber, will give a short talk about their favourite construction or real estate project - celebrating that “I built that!”. An interactive question and answer session will follow using an online-platform to encourage contribution from all of those in the audience.

This event is part of The Rising Tide: Women at Cambridge programme hosted by Cambridge University Libraries, and generously supported by Cambridge Assessment, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, the Howard and Abby Milstein Foundation, and the Friends of Cambridge University Library.

More information is available at this link

Until Saturday 21 March, Monday to Friday 9am to 6.30pm, Saturday 9am to 4.40pm - The Rising Tide: Women at Cambridge - Milstein Exhibition Centre, Cambridge University Library

Curated by Dr Lucy Delap and Dr Ben Griffin, The Rising Tide focuses on the lived experiences of women at the University, the ongoing fight for equal educational rights, recognition, and inclusion in university activities, and the careers of some of the women who shaped the institution – from leading academics to extraordinary domestic staff and influential fellows’ wives.

More information is available at this link

Sunday 22 March, 11.30pm to 12.30pm & 2.30pm to 3.30pm – StrongWomen Science – Cambridge Junction, J2 Clifton Way 

Ever wanted to know how you balance a chair on your chin, if you can juggle liquid, or how circus performers eat fire? StrongWomen Aoife (an engineer) and Maria (an environmental scientist) reveal the amazing science behind their astounding tricks.

StrongWomen Science doesn’t only illustrate scientific facts. It seeks to promote enquiry, inventiveness and accessibility in science, making it open to all, in particular young women and girls. In addition to demonstrating scientific principles in fun and accessible ways, it looks at the worth of failure and the power of teamwork, both shared by science and circus. Because when science meets circus, anything’s possible.

StrongWomen Science is a Circus250 Production www.circus250.org

This event is part of the Cambridge Science Festival.

More information is available at this link

My PhD research focuses on using machine learning algorithms and network metrics to model urban cities worldwide. A project I led examined the role of network and transport metrics to predict whether a business will survive or fail.

My work at the NASA Frontier Development Lab focused on space medicine. As we send astronauts on longer missions into deep space, they are exposed for longer periods of time to radiation and microgravity both of which create numerous physiological changes.

We're only just starting to understand these changes, but harnessing AI and wearable devices to monitor astronaut health in space and build autonomous systems of healthcare in space is imperative. I think it's really exciting work and isn't talked about nearly as much as it should be since it's important for all of our future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond!

The Pulse Lab is an innovation lab formed within the UN to harness data science insights for policy. I worked on modeling internal migration in Vanuatu to support future national resource allocation. The experience with the Global Pulse lab taught me about the importance of translating research insights into practice. It provided me with exposure to public policy which was work I found interesting and impactful.

On a daily basis my research primarily involves me reading papers or coding at my computer from the Department of Computer Science and Technology, in West Cambridge.

The most interesting day I’ve had so far in academia was when I was invited to travel to the UN office in New Delhi, India to help lead and present at a workshop on the potential for machine learning in the public sector. It was an opportunity to meet with those outside my field and share current machine learning research that I found exciting!

Last year, I was invited to a private estate in Kent, for a day of tennis with HRH Prince Edward, the son of Queen Elizabeth II. I played in a doubles match against HRH and although I lost, it was a unique opportunity and one I’ll never forget!

I hope my work can utilise machine learning to have a positive impact on the world. The private sector has harnessed machine learning to support products, advertisements, and services. However, the public sector has been slower to use the potential of machine learning to support government decision making and inform policy. In the future, I expect technology to play a larger role in development efforts worldwide. After my studies, I hope to support this work using my background in technology.

Cambridge has been a fantastic place to do my PhD research. The professors, peers, and resources are world-class. I’ve been given funding to travel and present my work at top-tier conferences worldwide as well as to work on international collaborations. I have also had the flexibility and exposure to internship opportunities which have enabled me to work in new countries, fields, and projects.

My advice for women considering a career in a STEM field is to find role models in the field who can support and guide you over the course of your career. I’ve been fortunate to have had a number of mentors who have helped to find opportunities, think through career decisions, and network with others in the field. This mentorship has been priceless.

As many as one in 20 families worldwide is thought to include a child with a learning disability, but little is known about how this affects the parents’ mental health and wellbeing. Although some parents experience depression and anxiety, it is not clear why some are at greater risk than others.

Professor Claire Hughes from the University of Cambridge Centre for Family Research, said: “It’s important that we understand why some parents are at greater risk of mental health problems than others. If a parent experiences long-term mental health problems, this could have a knock-on effect on the whole family, affecting partner relationships, the wellbeing of their child with disability, and the experiences of siblings. That’s why interventions are often more successful when they are designed to help parents in order to help children.”

To address this question, Professor Hughes assembled an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Birmingham to analyse information from 888 families taking part in the IMAGINE-ID study – a UK-wide project examining the links between genetic diagnoses, learning disabilities and mental health. Parents were asked to rate their everyday feelings and the nature and impact of their child’s difficulties, as well as to provide information about their family’s social circumstances.

One parent who participated in IMAGINE-ID said that professionals tended to focus on the child’s needs and did not consider the wider needs of families: “It’s very much about getting support for your child. At no point were we ever offered any mental health support, even though we have such a massive role to play in bringing up our children. We need support as well.”

The study data shows that rates of negative symptoms such as worry, anxiety and stress were much higher in the IMAGINE-ID group of parents than in the general population of parents. Mothers in the IMAGINE-ID study – who were more likely to be the main caregiver – were particularly affected. Contrary to evidence from previous studies, social factors did not predict a parent’s risk of low mood and stress: more important were the type of genetic disorder that affected their child, their child’s physical and medical needs, and their child’s behaviour.

For the first time, the researchers were able to demonstrate that the cause of a child’s disabilities is one factor that predicts the emotional wellbeing of parents.  A subgroup of genetic disorders is caused by short missing or duplicated sections of DNA (known as ‘copy number variants’). Parents within this subgroup reported that their child’s difficulties had a high level of impact on family life as well as restricting their child’s activities and friendships, and these impacts were the source of their own distress.  

The researchers say there could be a number of explanations for these findings, varying from the complex effects of chromosomal differences on children’s development through to the availability of support for these families. They have called for more multi-disciplinary, family-focused research to determine how genetic diagnoses are linked to parents’ mental health, so that support for families can be improved in future.

Dr Kate Baker, lead author of the research paper, based at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, said: “These results suggest that we need to start looking at genetic diagnoses as useful not just for predicting a child’s needs and informing the support that they might receive, but also for predicting the broader impact that the diagnosis will have on their family.” 

Francesca Wicks, former research coordinator for IMAGINE-ID and now Family Support and Information Officer for Unique, the rare chromosome and single gene disorder support charity, said: “It’s clear that not enough care and support is being offered to parents before, during and after their child’s diagnosis. The help and support offered by organisations such as Unique is incredibly valuable, but much more needs to be done within health and statutory services. Many of the families I have met have expressed feelings of anxiety and depression over the years, which is why we have produced our Carers Wellbeing guide.”

The IMAGINE-ID study is funded by the UK Medical Research Council and Medical Research Foundation.

Reference
Baker, K et al. Childhood intellectual disability and parents’ mental health: integrating social, psychological and genetic influences. BJPsych; 11 March 2020; DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2020.38

Cambridge University is an amazing cauldron of very talented people. I have been working in the Department of Chemistry for over ten years as a Research Scientist, funded by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS).  The Earth's atmosphere and climate are highly complex systems to study and require a multidisciplinary approach. The Cambridge Centre for Climate Science pulls together the skills and knowledge of people from different University departments and the British Antarctic Survey to enable such a multidisciplinary approach. During my undergraduate degree at the University of Palermo in Italy, I spent six months studying in the UK as an Erasmus exchange student. This was an inspiring experience and after completing an MPhil in Chemistry I decided to go back to the UK and pursue a PhD at UCL.

I joined the Met Office after completing my postgraduate degree and worked there as a climate scientist for a few years. However, my job was of a very technical nature and I missed the excitement of interest-led research. A key moment in my career came when I decided to leave my permanent position there to pursue my research interests. I found a very relevant job in Cambridge and decided to accept it, despite the fixed-term nature of University employment. I'm glad I took that risk and followed my interests as this has paid off in the long-term.

My interests include atmospheric pollution in the urban environment, tropical storms and their impact on the ozone layer, and climate change. I use computer simulations to study the interplay of the physical and chemical processes that affect the Earth's atmosphere and all of its living creatures. Most of my days are spent on a computer looking at large multidimensional datasets and trying to find patterns and trends. We use computer models to simulate the atmosphere and its chemical components, so one of my jobs is to test the model results are accurate, by comparing the model output to observations from satellites.

I hope my research will lead to better understanding of the atmosphere and potentially new ways to understand the links between climate and air pollution, along with increased awareness of the damage that certain technologies could be inflicting on our planet, and in turn on our health.

If pursuing further education in science or a STEM career is what you want to do, then don't be put off by statistics or what anyone might say. There is a role and a need for more women in STEM and things are getting rapidly and noticeably better for those who follow this path. More flexible working arrangements and the definition of core hours allow women who decide to have a family (such as myself) to continue their career and achieve a reasonable work/life balance. Issues of pay gap and progression still exist but they have started to be addressed thanks to initiatives such as the Athena Swan charter.

The University of Cambridge is creating a new Professorship in education and mental health, to further strengthen a growing research programme aimed at improving the wellbeing, and associated life chances, of children and young adults.

The post was announced on Wednesday 11 March, 2020, by the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen Toope, as he opened the Yidan Prize Conference: Europe, a major, international gathering of leading education researchers. The university, he said, had a ‘critical’ role to play in addressing the challenges of mental health.

The Yidan Prize Conference Series is linked to the Yidan Prize, the largest international prize in education, which is made annually to two outstanding individuals responsible for transformational changes in education research and development. The European conference is hosted by the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge.

One of the Yidan Laureates honoured this year was Usha Goswami, Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University, and a Fellow of St John’s College. She received the award for her work deepening understanding of children’s early language acquisition, which has created a basis for new, effective interventions for dyslexia.

The conference more broadly aims to profile world-leading research that demonstrates how education can address major global challenges, and this year focused on wellbeing and education as one of its main themes: examining how schools, teachers and the education system in general can support children with mental health problems.

Opening the event, Professor Toope announced that the University will be creating a new role – Professor of the Psychology of Education and Mental Health – which will be based in its Faculty of Education. The first post-holder will be Professor Gordon Harold, currently at the University of Sussex, who has led several, field-changing studies into the relationship between domestic adversity and young people’s mental health, enabling schools and teachers to do more to support pupils with depression, anxiety and other mental health problems.

He will join a wider research network on wellbeing and inclusion within the Faculty of Education which is aiming to develop practical interventions and guidance for education professionals by addressing key, unanswered questions: such as how young people’s social relationships affect their learning, and how pupils and teachers can be better supported to cope with the various pressures of the education system.

“We must not lose sight of the fact that mental health, as well as a scientific challenge, is also one of social science and education,” Professor Toope said.

He added: “This goes beyond developing interventions for depression, anxiety, or other disorders. The promotion of positive mental health goes hand-in-hand with the task of helping future generations to enjoy greater opportunities and to become everything they can possibly be.”

Although many countries treat mental health as a matter primarily for health and social care services, education researchers and professionals have long highlighted its relevance for education.

That relationship was highlighted again in February, in Sir Michael Marmot’s '10 Years On’ review, which directly links poor physical and mental health in deprived parts of England to a pattern of social inequality that includes cuts to education funding and children’s services. His findings echo recent NHS research into children’s mental health, which suggests that 12.8% of five to 19-year-olds experience at least one mental disorder, and that these are more common among those from low-income backgrounds.

Professor Harold’s work has demonstrated the significant impact that adversity early in life – such as conflict between parents – has on depression, anxiety and behavioural disorders, and, through this, young people’s attainment at school.

He also led years of research that successfully challenged a thesis, popular among some education policy-makers, that young people’s academic attainment and behavioural development are principally governed by genetics. Professor Harold’s research has contested this assertion by studying the progress of children with biologically unrelated parents, such as IVF babies or those adopted at birth. This research has reinforced the significance of a child’s upbringing and environment for their mental health and development and how these experiences interact with and shape their genetic make-up.

He is now leading the national ‘enurture’ network, a UKRI funded initative, which aims to provide effective advice to parents, teachers and policy makers about how emerging digital tools and social media can be used to influence their mental health positively, rather than hinder it.

“One of the most exciting things about coming to Cambridge is that there is so much globally impactful work on education and wellbeing already being done here, offering a unique opportunity to complement and enhance the focus on families, schools and mental health that my research and impact activities represent,” Professor Harold said.

“There are still big questions that we need to answer to help promote positive child and adolescent development, both from a scientific and a social perspective. By drawing on all of these different areas of research we can start to equip parents, teachers, practitioners, and policy-makers with the evidence, support and resources they need to promote positive mental health among young people today – and the adults of tomorrow.”

This year’s Yidan conference also honoured the work of the 2019 Laureate, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, who died in January this year. Sir Fazle was the Founder and Chair of BRAC, one of the world’s largest non-profit development organisations, which has set up hundreds of early childhood development centres, where close to 40,000 children are presently enrolled.

Dr Charles Chen Yidan, the founder of the Prize, said: “The 2019 Laureates represent two very different approaches to ensuring that our children go on to lead happy, productive lives, but they also intersect. Both point to the need to achieve a better, deeper understanding of children’s needs. Through their work, we now see promising ways to help millions of lives around the world.”

Further information about the Prize is available from the Yidan Foundation website.

The CamAPS FX app works with an insulin pump and a glucose monitor to automatically deliver insulin to people living with the condition via a complex algorithm.

Around 400,000 people in the UK are affected by type 1 diabetes, 29,000 of them children. It is a chronic, life-threatening condition that has a life-long impact on those diagnosed with it and their families. Currently, people with type 1 diabetes rely on a routine of finger-prick blood tests and insulin injections or infusions just to stay alive, because their pancreas no longer produces insulin itself. 

The app - which Professor Hovorka hopes will become available on the NHS in the future - will take over much of the management of the condition. This is particularly important at night, when many people with type 1 diabetes experience potentially dangerous low blood glucose levels.

The app can also upload the user’s blood glucose measurements seamlessly to Diasend, an online platform, allowing their diabetes team to provide more personalised care.

The CamAPS FX app is backed by 13 years of clinical research carried out by Professor Hovorka and his research group at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science. It is licensed for use by both adults and children with the condition and is the first artificial pancreas system to be licensed for use in pregnancy, or by young children aged one and above.

Professor Hovorka said: “This is a major stepping stone towards providing widely available, clinically proven, and user-friendly artificial pancreas technology to people with type 1 diabetes.

“Our aim is to alleviate the ever-present burden of type 1 diabetes and improve health outcomes. This is the outcome of hard work, with more to come. We are indebted to all who are helping us on this journey.”

At launch, the app will be supported by a small number of UK diabetes clinics. People who wish to use the app will need to confirm which clinic they attend, and must be using a Dana RS pump and a Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitor. 

Professor Hovorka and his research team will work to continue to bring this technology to all who need it, via the NHS. Key to this will be the generation of data to support the case for NHS provision.

The commercial launch is a milestone in the journey towards a fully automated artificial pancreas for everyone with type 1 diabetes. Such technology will fundamentally change life with the condition by working with a range of insulin pumps and glucose monitors to lift the burden of managing a condition that is relentlessly unpredictable day and night.

Professor Hovorka will continue refining the artificial pancreas through research into mealtime glucose control and improving ease of use.

The research behind the app has been funded by the type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, Diabetes UK, the National Institute for Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, Horizon 2020, and The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust

Karen Addington, UK Chief Executive of JDRF, said: “JDRF is proud to have supported Professor Hovorka’s artificial pancreas research from the beginning, nearly 15 years ago. This app is a major innovation and a significant milestone on the road to a fully automated and interoperable artificial pancreas. There’s still more work to do, but this is an exciting step.”

Fiona O’Reilly, who has been using the app as part of a clinical trial, said: “Overall, it makes me feel free. It is the closest I have been to living without the burden of type 1 diabetes since I was diagnosed, which is a fabulous feeling – I feel less fearful of hypoglycaemia, and less ashamed of the fact that I find achieving good glycaemic control so tricky.

“And it makes me feel more positive of my future with diabetes, that I have a chance of avoiding all the associated complications. It also makes me feel lucky to live in a time where this technology is possible and really grateful to be given the chance to try it out.”

The app is now available for UK users to download onto Android phones via the Amazon Appstore. The app is available on a subscription basis starting at £70 per month.

Adapted from a press release by the JDRF.

Inflammation is usually the body’s response to injury and stress – such as the redness and swelling that accompanies an injury or infection. However, inflammation in the brain – known as neuroinflammation – has been recognised and linked to many disorders including depression, psychosis and multiple sclerosis. It has also recently been linked to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

In a study published today in the journal Brain, a team of researchers at the University of Cambridge set out to examine whether neuroinflammation also occurs in other forms of dementia, which would imply that it is common to many neurodegenerative diseases.

The team recruited 31 patients with three different types of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). FTD is a family of different conditions resulting from the build-up of several abnormal ‘junk’ proteins in the brain.

Patients underwent brain scans to detect inflammation and the junk proteins. Two Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans each used an injection with a chemical ‘dye’, which lights up special molecules that reveal either the brain’s inflammatory cells or the junk proteins.

In the first scan, the dye lit up the cells causing neuroinflammation. These indicate ongoing damage to the brain cells and their connections. In the second scan, the dye binds to the different types of ‘junk’ proteins found in FTD.

The researchers showed that across the brain, and in all three types of FTD, the more inflammation in each part of the brain, the more harmful build-up of the junk proteins there is. To prove the dyes were picking up the inflammation and harmful proteins, they went on to analyse under the microscope 12 brains donated after death to the Cambridge Brain Bank.

“We predicted the link between inflammation in the brain and the build-up of damaging proteins, but even we were surprised by how tightly these two problems mapped on to each other,” said Dr Thomas Cope from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Cambridge.

Dr Richard Bevan Jones added, “There may be a vicious circle where cell damage triggers inflammation, which in turn leads to further cell damage.”

The team stress that further research is needed to translate this knowledge of inflammation in dementia into testable treatments. But, this new study shows that neuroinflammation is a significant factor in more types of dementia than was previously thought.

“It is an important discovery that all three types of frontotemporal dementia have inflammation, linked to the build-up of harmful abnormal proteins in different parts of the brain. The illnesses are in other ways very different from each other, but we have found a role for inflammation in all of them,” says Professor James Rowe from the Cambridge Centre for Frontotemporal Dementia and a Fellow of Darwin College .

“This, together with the fact that it is known to play a role in Alzheimer’s, suggests that inflammation is part of many other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. This offers hope that immune-based treatments might help slow or prevent these conditions.”

The research was supported by Wellcome, the Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Association of British Neurologists, Patrick Berthoud Charitable Trust, and the Lundbeck Foundation.

Reference
Bevan-Jones, WR & Cope, TE et al. Neuroinflammation and protein aggregation co-localize across the frontotemporal dementia spectrum. Brain; 17 Mar 2020; DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaa033

It is hard now to conceive that two months ago, few people had heard of the new coronavirus. Now, the virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has spread to every corner of the globe. The World Health Organization has officially declared the outbreak a pandemic.

With the threat of hundreds of thousands – possibly millions – of people being infected and healthcare systems becoming overwhelmed, the race is on to develop a vaccine that will protect individuals and slow the spread of the disease. But Professor Jonathan Heeney, Head of the Laboratory of Viral Zoonotics at the University of Cambridge, and one of the people working on a vaccine, says that coronaviruses present a particular challenge to vaccine developers.

Coronaviruses are named after their appearance: they are spherical objects, on the surface of which sit ‘spike’ proteins. The virus uses these spikes to attach to and invade cells in our body. Once inside, the virus uses the cell’s own machinery to help itself replicate and spread throughout the body, causing disease and allowing it to transmit onwards.

Traditionally, scientists would develop vaccines that programme the body to produce antibodies that recognise and block these spikes. But this strategy can misfire with coronaviruses due to a phenomenon known as ‘antibody-induced enhancement’ or ‘vaccine-induced enhancement’, says Heeney.

“If you make antibodies against the spike, they can end up binding to it and helping the virus invade important immune cells known as monocyte-macrophages. Rather than destroying the virus, these cells can then end up being reprogrammed by the viruses, exacerbating the immune response and making the disease much, much worse than it would otherwise be.”

This phenomenon is well known, says Heeney, but it could still slow down development of a vaccine. “Researchers will want to be confident that their vaccine candidates are safe – that they don’t inadvertently make the disease worse – before they are tested in humans.”

As well as his Professorship at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Heeney is CEO of DIOSynVax, a spin-out company set up in 2017 with the support of Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialisation arm. Its strapline is ‘We change the way vaccines are made’. In the past few years, Heeney has won significant funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Innovate UK to develop new vaccines for diseases ranging from influenza to Ebola and other haemorrhagic fevers. It is this technology that he is now applying to the coronavirus.

DIOSynVax’s approach involves using computer modelling of the virus’s structure, created using information on the COVID-19 virus itself as well as its relatives – SARS, MERS and other coronaviruses – and identifying chinks in its armour, crucial pieces of the spikes that will form part of the vaccine, to disable the virus but without making the infection worse.

“A vaccine strategy needs to be laser specific, targeting those domains of the virus’s structure that are absolutely critical for docking with a cell, while avoiding the parts that could make things worse,” he says. “Our technology does just that.”

Their approach is to look at the genetics of these viruses to identify the key piece of genetic code that the virus uses to produce the essential part of its coat, the spikes, that are important for docking with a cell and to target these elements with the vaccine.

“What we end up with is a mimic, a mirror image of part of the virus, but minus its bad parts, the non-essential parts that could trigger those bad immune responses. What remains is just the magic bullet, essentially, to trigger the right type of immune response.”

Then, using a combination of artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, the team create a vaccine that includes this piece of genetic code, which can be injected into an individual. The body’s immune cells will then find it, decode it and us the information to program the rest of the immune system to produce antibodies against it.

The next step is to then test the vaccine in pre-clinical trials – in other words, give the vaccine to mice to check that it is safe to use. Mice are an important part of vaccine research: their physiology and immune systems are similar enough to ours to enable researchers to minimise the risk to humans taking part in clinical trials.

DIOSynVax’s approach is much faster than current vaccine development technologies, says Heeney, which means that even allowing for essential pre-clinical mouse studies, his vaccine candidate could be ready for human clinical trials as early as June. He is currently seeking funding to pursue his work further and a pharmaceutical company with whom to partner on clinical trials.

“We need a ‘big pharma’ partner to help us scale up our activities,” he says. “Our vaccine designs are made so that they can be easily integrated into any proprietary vaccine platform that a pharmaceutical company may have ready.”

Updates for staff and students at the University and Colleges on coronavirus (COVID-19)

Read the latest advice for staff and students at the University and Colleges

When you look at the news, all you hear about are the latest deaths and numbers of people infected by coronavirus, along with tips on how to avoid infection, how to protect yourself, how to avoid sick people… This is enough to make even the calmest of individuals experience anxiety, and it’s even worse if you’re dealing with a mental health condition.

One in six people has a common mental health problem such as anxiety and depression in England. If you add to that the fears and stress surrounding coronavirus, what do you get? A grim situation which makes it hard to cope and go through daily life. 

Fortunately, there are ways – based on science – that allow you to take back control and lower your anxiety levels during this time of uncertainty. We’re all going through a difficult time, so it’s very important that we take care of our mental health. Here are some simple steps that will help you take back control of the situation, take back control of your life, and take back control of your mental wellbeing.

1. Stay away from the news 

Constantly reading, watching, or checking the news only makes your anxiety grow stronger. Your curiosity can turn into a habit, and before you know it, your work breaks turn into checking the latest news on coronavirus on your phone.

Because it’s easier to nip a bad habit in the bud, try to limit the amount of time you spend watching the news – starting from now. It will be much easier to do this now that it will in a month’s time.       

2. Distract yourself

Our minds can’t hold two thoughts at once. We can’t panic about coronavirus and at the same time be absorbed by a work project. So next time a worrying thought creeps into your mind, try to distract yourself – it can be with work, taking a shower, or even watching a silly YouTube video. 

This is really effective, because it gives our minds a chance to focus on and still be consumed by something – but this time we’re choosing what it’s being consumed by rather than letting it go astray. We’re back in the driver’s seat and taking control of our minds. 

Distraction is much more effective than trying to “not think” about something, because whenever we try to suppress thoughts, they come back to haunt us with a vengeance – it doesn’t work. Try this experiment: close your eyes and try to not think of a polar bear. Did it work? Of course not! In order not to think about something, you have to conjure up an image of that thing in the first place. It’s the same with coronavirus or anything unpleasant you don’t want to think about. Telling yourself that you shouldn’t be thinking about something and trying to banish unwanted thoughts makes it even worse. Distraction is far more effective.

3. Choose what you focus on

It’s a difficult time, because we’re isolated and many of us feel lonely and helpless. Instead of thinking about social isolation and the difficulties surrounding it, which can make us depressed, change focus. Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but have never had the time – a project at home or a new language you’ve always wanted to learn, for example? Could you sign up for a self-improvement webinar that allows you to gain life skills?

Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free.

Let go of the guilt that you could be doing something more valuable with your time – what could be better than learning how to better yourself? Now is a time to be kind to others, but also a time to be kind to yourself. And when you do this, your self-compassion grows and your mental health will improve. 

4. Stay connected

Even though we’re socially distancing ourselves from other people, this doesn’t mean that we should be socially isolating ourselves. Make use of technology and FaceTime or Skype with the people you care about.  One of the ways of combatting loneliness in older people is through technology, by connecting them with others they care about. You could be in separate countries, but knowing that a friendly voice is just a click away gives you something to look forward to in the day.   

5. Remember: thoughts are mental events that will pass

Anxiety may get the better of you and you’re finding it hard to fall asleep at night or to concentrate during the day because of the uncertainties of the situation. You might worry that you’re going to contract coronavirus and maybe even that you’re even going to die.

A few years ago, I heard a Buddhist monk speak at the University of Cambridge. He said that our thoughts are mental events – any consuming thoughts you have now will pass just like many others did.

If you have difficulty letting go of thoughts, consider practicing some mindfulness meditation. Focus on your breaths going in and out of your lungs while gently letting go of thoughts. You’re not fighting or banishing the thoughts: you’re just trying not to feed them – instead, you’re always gently bringing your mind back to the breaths.

There are many videos online on how to do mindfulness meditation. Doing this can calm you and it can ground you. 

Dr Olivia Remes is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, where she focuses on anxiety and depression.

Despite having many different versions of string theory circulating throughout the physics community for decades, there have been very few experimental tests. Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, however, have now made a significant step forward in this area.

By searching through galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the universe held together by gravity, researchers were able to hunt for a specific particle that string theory predicts should exist. While the resulting non-detection does not rule out string theory altogether, it does deliver a blow to certain models within that family of ideas.

“Until recently I had no idea just how much X-ray astronomers bring to the table when it comes to string theory, but we could play a major role,” said Professor Christopher Reynolds of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, who led the study. “If these particles are eventually detected it would change physics forever.”

The particle that Reynolds and his colleagues were searching for is called an axion. These as-yet-undetected particles should have extraordinarily low masses. Scientists do not know the precise mass range, but many theories feature axion masses ranging from about a millionth of the mass of an electron down to zero mass. Some scientists think that axions could explain the mystery of dark matter, which accounts for the vast majority of matter in the universe.

One unusual property of these ultra-low-mass particles would be that they might sometimes convert into photons, or particles of light, as they pass through magnetic fields. The opposite may also hold true: photons may also be converted into axions under certain conditions. How often this switch occurs depends on how easily they make this conversion, in other words on their 'convertibility.'

Some scientists have proposed the existence of a broader class of ultra-low-mass particles with similar properties to axions. Axions would have a single convertibility value at each mass, but 'axion-like particles' would have a range of convertibility at the same mass.

“While it may sound like a long shot to look for tiny particles like axions in gigantic structures like galaxy clusters, they are actually great places to look,” said co-author David Marsh of Stockholm University in Sweden. “Galaxy clusters contain magnetic fields over giant distances, and they also often contain bright X-ray sources. Together these properties enhance the chances that conversion of axion-like particles would be detectable.”

To look for signs of conversion by axion-like particles, the team of astronomers examined over five days of Chandra observations of X-rays from material falling towards the supermassive black hole in the centre of the Perseus galaxy cluster. They studied the Chandra spectrum, or the amount of X-ray emission observed at different energies, of this source. The long observation and the bright X-ray source gave a spectrum with enough sensitivity to have shown distortions that scientists expected if axion-like particles were present.

The lack of detection of such distortions allowed the researchers to rule out the presence of most types of axion-like particles in the mass range their observations were sensitive to, below about a millionth of a billionth of an electron's mass.

“Our research doesn’t completely rule out the existence of these particles, but it definitely doesn’t help their case,” said co-author Helen Russell of the University of Nottingham. “These constraints dig into the range of properties suggested by string theory, and may help string theorists weed their theories.”

The latest result was about three to four times more sensitive than the previous best search for axion-like particles, which came from Chandra observations of the supermassive black hole in M87. This Perseus study is also about a hundred times more powerful than current measurements that can be performed in laboratories here on Earth for the range of masses that they have considered.

Clearly, one possible interpretation of this work is that axion-like particles do not exist. Another explanation is that the particles have even lower convertibility values than this observation’s detection limit, and lower than some particle physicists have expected. They also could have higher masses than probed with the Chandra data.

The results are reported in The Astrophysical Journal.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge and Burlington, Massachusetts.

Adapted from a NASA press release.

Uncovering a large amount of previously undescribed genetic variation, the study provides new insights into our evolutionary past, and highlights the complexity of the process through which our ancestors diversified, migrated and mixed throughout the world.

Published in the journal Science, the work involved the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Francis Crick Institute and other collaborators. It is the first to apply the latest high-quality sequencing technology to such a large and diverse set of humans, covering 929 genomes from 54 geographically, linguistically and culturally diverse populations from across the globe. 

The results provide unprecedented detail of our genetic history, and highlights how it is characterised by multiple layers of complexity. Although genetic differences between populations reflect their diversity, many patterns are shared across continents, revealing both ancient and recent connections between populations.

Researchers in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Genetics analysed the sequencing data to investigate evidence of interbreeding between the ancestors of modern humans and extinct human lineages such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, which occurred 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. 

They found evidence that the Neanderthal ancestry of modern humans can be explained by just one major ‘mixing event’, most likely involving several Neanderthal individuals coming into contact with modern humans shortly after the latter had expanded out of Africa. 

"Studying the patterns of Neanderthal ancestry in present-day humans hints at the structure of human communities more than 50,000 years ago. It is remarkable that patterns of Neanderthal ancestry are so similar in populations around the world today, and may have derived from a single Neanderthal population," said Dr Aylwyn Scally, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Genetics who was involved in the study.

In contrast, several different sets of DNA segments inherited from Denisovans were identified in people from Oceania and East Asia, suggesting at least two distinct mixing events. “This could suggest that multiple small groups of Denisovans once lived in different regions of Asia. We expect future discoveries of ancient DNA - perhaps from other extinct humans and perhaps even inside Africa - to tell us more about ancient population structure and diversity," said Dr Ruoyun Hui at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Genetics, who also worked on the study.

Until recently, it was thought that only people outside sub-Saharan Africa had Neanderthal DNA. Now, the discovery of small amounts of Neanderthal DNA in west African people is most likely to reflect genetic backflow into Africa from Eurasia. 

The consensus view of human history is that the ancestors of present-day humans diverged from the ancestors of extinct Neanderthal and Denisovan groups around 500,000-700,000 years ago, before the emergence of ‘modern’ humans in Africa in the last few hundred thousand years.

Around 50,000-70,000 years ago, some humans expanded out of Africa and soon after mixed with archaic Eurasian groups. After that, populations grew rapidly, with extensive migration and mixture as many groups transitioned from hunter-gatherers to food producers over the last 10,000 years.

The new data is freely available worldwide to benefit the study of human evolution and genetic diversity, including studies of genetic susceptibility to disease in different parts of the world.

The team found millions of previously unknown DNA variations that are exclusive to one continental or major geographical region. Though most of these were rare, they included common variations in certain African and Oceanian populations that had not been identified by previous studies – variations that may influence the susceptibility of different populations to disease. 

Medical genetics studies have so far predominantly been conducted in populations of European ancestry, meaning that any medical implications that these variants might have are not known. Identifying these novel variants represents a first step towards fully expanding the study of genomics to underrepresented populations.

However, no single DNA variation was found to be present in 100 per cent of genomes from any major geographical region while being absent from all other regions. This finding underlines that the majority of common genetic variation is found across the globe.

“The detail provided by this study allows us to look deeper into human history, particularly inside Africa where less is currently known about the timescale of human evolution,” said Dr Anders Bergström, of the Francis Crick Institute and formerly the Wellcome Sanger Institute. “We find that the ancestors of present-day populations diversified through a gradual and complex process mostly during the last 250,000 years, with large amounts of gene flow between these early lineages. But we also see evidence that small parts of human ancestries trace back to groups that diversified much earlier than this.”

This study was funded by Wellcome and the Francis Crick Institute.

Reference
Bergström, A. et al. Insights into human genetic variation and population history from 929 diverse genomes, Science, March 2020; DOI: 10.1126/science.aay5012

Adapted from a press release by The Wellcome Sanger Institute.

Through a £20 million investment administered by the University, the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium - comprised of the NHS, Public Health Agencies, Wellcome Sanger Institute, and numerous academic institutions - will deliver large scale, rapid sequencing of the cause of the disease and share intelligence with hospitals, regional NHS centres and the Government.

Samples from patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 will be sent to a network of sequencing centres which currently includes Belfast, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford and Sheffield.

The University, together with the Wellcome Sanger Institute, one of the world’s most advanced centres of genomes and data, will coordinate the collaboration between expert groups across the UK to analyse the genetic code of COVID-19 samples circulating in the UK and in doing so, give public health agencies and clinicians a unique, cutting-edge tool to combat the virus.

By looking at the whole virus genome in people who have had confirmed cases of COVID-19, scientists can monitor changes in the virus at a national scale to understand how the virus is spreading and whether different strains are emerging. This will help clinical care of patients and save lives.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “At a critical moment in history, this new consortium will bring together the UK’s brightest and best scientists to build our understanding of this pandemic, tackle the disease and ultimately, save lives.

“As a Government we are working tirelessly to do all we can to fight COVID-19 to protect as many lives and save as many jobs as possible.”

Whole genome sequencing involves reading the entire genetic code of the virus. It will help scientists understand COVID-19 and its spread. It can also help guide treatments in the future and help monitor the impact of interventions.

Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance said: “The UK is one of the world’s leading destinations for genomics research and development, and I am confident that our best minds, working as part of this consortium, will make vital breakthroughs to help us tackle this disease.”

The UK Consortium, supported by the Government, including the NHS, Public Health England, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and Wellcome, will enable clinicians and public health teams to rapidly investigate clusters of cases in hospitals, care homes and the community, to understand how the virus is spread and implement appropriate infection control measures.

The Consortium Director will be Professor Sharon Peacock, Chair of Public Health and Microbiology at the University of Cambridge and Director of the National Infection Service, Public Health England.

“This virus is one of the biggest threats our nation has faced in recent times and crucial to helping us fight it is understanding how it is spreading,” said Professor Peacock. “Harnessing innovative genome technologies will help us tease apart the complex picture of coronavirus spread in the UK, and rapidly evaluate ways to reduce the impact of this disease on our society.”

Work at the University of Cambridge will take place in the recently-opened Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID). Dr Ewan Harrison from the Department of Medicine will serve as the Scientific Project Manager. Professor John Danesh from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care will serve on the consortium’s Steering Committee

“We are delighted to be leading this important national programme,” said CITIID Director, Professor Ken Smith. “It builds on years of work on pathogen genomics by Professor Peacock and her group, and synergises with other major COVID-19 programmes being driven from Cambridge. The size and reach of this study across many centres in the UK will provide unprecedented insight into the biology of COVID-19 and its impact on the population. It will be essential for understand how this virus spreads and why it causes disease, and for monitoring how it evolves, particularly looking at whether it becomes more or less dangerous.”

Professor Sir Mike Stratton, Director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, added: “Samples from substantial numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 will be whole genome sequenced and, employing the Sanger Institute’s expertise in genomics and surveillance of infectious diseases, our researchers will collaborate with other leading groups across the country to analyse the data generated and work out how coronavirus is spreading in the UK. This will inform national and international strategies to control the pandemic and prevent further spread.”

Sir Jeremy Farrar, Director of Wellcome, said: “Rapid genome sequencing of COVID-19 will give us unparalleled insights into the spread, distribution and scale of the epidemic in the UK. The power of 21st century science to combat this pandemic is something that those going before us could not have dreamt of, and it is incumbent on us to do everything we can to first understand, and then limit, the impact of COVID-19.”

Professor Fiona Watt, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation said: “The UK is a leader in cutting edge genome sequencing science. We are now applying specialist expertise in our fight to slow the spread of Coronavirus and accelerate treatments for those affected.

“The ambitious and coordinated response of our research community to the COVID-19 challenge is remarkable. This investment and the findings from the consortium will help prepare the UK and the world for future pandemics.”

Reports have questioned whether electric cars really are ‘greener’ once emissions from production and generating their electricity are taken into account.

But a new study by the universities of Exeter, Nijmegen and Cambridge has concluded that electric cars lead to lower carbon emissions overall, even if electricity generation still relies on fossil fuels. The results are reported in the journal Nature Sustainability.

Under current conditions, driving an electric car is better for the climate than conventional petrol cars in 95% of the world, the study finds.

The only exceptions are places like Poland, where electricity generation is still mostly based on coal.

Average lifetime emissions from electric cars are up to 70% lower than petrol cars in countries like Sweden and France (which get most of their electricity from renewables and nuclear), and around 30% lower in the UK.

In a few years, even inefficient electric cars will be less emission-intensive than most new petrol cars in most countries, as electricity generation is expected to be less carbon-intensive than today.

The study projects that by 2050, every other car on the streets could be electric. This would reduce global CO2 emissions by up to 1.5 gigatons per year, which is equivalent to the total current CO2 emissions of Russia.

The study also looked at electric household heat pumps, and found they too produce lower emissions than fossil-fuel alternatives in 95% of the world.

Heat pumps could reduce global CO2 emissions in 2050 by up to 0.8 gigatons per year – roughly equal to Germany’s current annual emissions.

"We started this work a few years ago, and policy-makers in the UK and abroad have shown a lot of interest in the results," said senior author Dr Jean-Francois Mercure from the University of Exeter. "The answer is clear: to reduce carbon emissions, we should choose electric cars and household heat pumps over fossil fuel alternatives."

"The idea that electric vehicles or electric heat pumps could increase emissions is essentially a myth," said lead author Dr Florian Knobloch, from the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. "We've seen a lot of discussion about this recently, with lots of disinformation going around. Here is a definitive study that can dispel those myths. We have run the numbers for all around the world, looking at a whole range of cars and heating systems.

"Even in our worst-case scenario, there would be a reduction in emissions in almost all cases. This insight should be very useful for policy-makers."

The study examined the current and future emissions of different types of vehicles and home heating options worldwide.

It divided the world into 59 regions to account for differences in power generation and technology.

In 53 of these regions – including the US, China and most of Europe – the findings show electric cars and heat pumps are already less emission-intensive than fossil fuel alternatives.

These 53 regions represent 95% of global transport and heating demand and, with energy production decarbonising worldwide, Mercure said the "last few debatable cases will soon disappear."

"Understanding the effect of low-carbon innovations on relevant sectors of the economy, such as heating and transport, is crucial for the development of effective policy," said co-author Dr Pablo Salas, from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. "We hope our work can inform the policy process here in the UK and abroad, particularly around discussions of the new carbon targets under the Paris Agreement framework."

The researchers carried out a life-cycle assessment in which they not only calculated greenhouse gas emissions generated when using cars and heating systems, but also in the production chain and waste processing.

"Taking into account emissions from manufacturing and ongoing energy use, it’s clear that we should encourage the switch to electric cars and household heat pumps without any regrets," Knobloch said.

Reference:
Florian Knobloch et al. ‘Net emission reductions from electric cars and heat pumps in 59 world regions over time.’ Nature Sustainability (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-0488-7

Adapted from a University of Exeter press release.

The numbers that drive headlines – those on Covid-19 infections, for example – contain significant levels of uncertainty: assumptions, limitations, extrapolations, and so on.

Experts and journalists have long assumed that revealing the “noise” inherent in data confuses audiences and undermines trust, say University of Cambridge researchers, despite this being little studied.

Now, new research has found that uncertainty around key facts and figures can be communicated in a way that maintains public trust in information and its source, even on contentious issues such as immigration and climate change.

Researchers say they hope the work, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, will encourage scientists and media to be bolder in reporting statistical uncertainties.

“Estimated numbers with major uncertainties get reported as absolutes,” said Dr Anne Marthe van der Bles, who led the new study while at Cambridge’s Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication.

“This can affect how the public views risk and human expertise, and it may produce negative sentiment if people end up feeling misled,” she said.

Co-author Sander van der Linden, director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, said: “Increasing accuracy when reporting a number by including an indication of its uncertainty provides the public with better information. In an era of fake news that might help foster trust.”

The team of psychologists and mathematicians set out to see if they could get people much closer to the statistical “truth” in a news-style online report without denting perceived trustworthiness.     

They conducted five experiments involving a total of 5,780 participants, including a unique field experiment hosted by BBC News online, which displayed the uncertainty around a headline figure in different ways.

The researchers got the best results when a figure was flagged as an estimate, and accompanied by the numerical range from which it had been derived, for example: “…the unemployment rate rose to an estimated 3.9% (between 3.7%–4.1%)”.  

This format saw a marked increase in the feeling and understanding that the data held uncertainty, but little to no negative effect on levels of trust in the data itself, those who provided it (e.g. civil servants) or those reporting it (e.g. journalists).

“We hope these results help to reassure all communicators of facts and science that they can be more open and transparent about the limits of human knowledge,” said co-author Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, Chair of the Winton Centre at the University of Cambridge.

Catherine Dennison, Welfare Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “We are committed to building trust in evidence at a time when it is frequently called into question. This study provides helpful guidance on ensuring informative statistics are credibly communicated to the public.”   

The findings are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Most experiment participants were recruited through the online crowdsourcing platform Prolific. They were given short, news-style texts on one of four topics: UK unemployment, UK immigration, Indian tiger populations, or climate change.

Uncertainty was presented as a single added word (e.g. ‘estimated’), a numerical range, a longer verbal caveat – “there is uncertainty around this figure: it could be somewhat higher or lower” – or combination of these, as well as the ‘control’ of a standalone figure without uncertainty, typical of most news reporting.

They found that the added word did not register with people, and the longer caveat registered but significantly diminished trust – the researchers believe it was too ambiguous. Presenting the numerical range (from minimum to maximum) had the right balance of signaling uncertainty with little evidence for loss of trust.  

Prior views on contested topics within news reports, such as migration, were included in the analysis. Although attitudes towards the issue mattered for how facts were viewed, when openness about data uncertainty was added it did not substantially reduce trust in either the numbers or the source.

The team worked with the BBC to conduct a field experiment in October 2019, when figures were released about the UK labour market.

In the BBC’s online story, figures were either presented as usual, a ‘control’, or with some uncertainty – a verbal caveat or a numerical range – and a link to a brief survey. Findings from this “real world” experiment matched those from the study’s other “lab conditions” experiments.   

“We recommend that journalists and those producing data give people the fuller picture,” said co-author Dr Alexandra Freeman, Executive Director of the Winton Centre.

“If a number is an estimate, let them know how precise that estimate is by putting a minimum and maximum in brackets afterwards.”

Sander van der Linden added: “Ultimately we’d like to see the cultivation of psychological comfort around the fact that knowledge and data always contain uncertainty.”

“Disinformation often appears definitive, and fake news plays on a sense of certainty,” he said.

“One way to help people navigate today’s post-truth news environment is by being honest about what we don’t know, such as the exact number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK. Our work suggests people can handle the truth.”

Last month, David Spiegelhalter launched a podcast about statistics, ‘Risky Talk’. In the first episode he discusses communicating climate change data with Sander van der Linden and Dr Emily Shuckburgh, leader of the University’s new climate initiative Cambridge Zero.

Since emerging in November 2019, there have been over 267,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus and over 11,200 deaths (WHO figures 22 March). While COVID-19 generally causes mild symptoms, some patients may develop severe lung inflammation. This may be severe enough to require intensive care for advanced, invasive mechanical ventilation (‘life support’).

Mechanical ventilation is a specialised procedure that can only be provided on an intensive care unit. The number of intensive care beds is limited and the equipment and specialist staffing required makes it difficult to create more ICU beds easily/quickly. In Northern Italy, which has been particularly severely affected, the large volumes of patients has overwhelmed ICU capacity.

“If mechanical ventilation cannot be provided to patients who need it, they will die,” says Dr Ari Ercole from the Division of Anaesthesia at the University of Cambridge. “ICU capacity is a crucial concern as additional capacity takes time to create both in terms of staffing and equipment.”

Dr Ercole and colleagues from Cambridge’s Division of Anaesthesia and Department of Computer Science and Technology have built a real-time computer model to try and make the earliest possible predictions of ICU demand in England. Their aim is to give an early warning of when or whether capacity will become critical and give as much advanced notice as possible to help build capacity.

Because of the urgent implications of the model’s results, the team has made its study available online early. The research has not been peer-reviewed. All source code has been made freely-available online as has an online version of the model which is updated as data comes in.

The team used COVID-19 diagnoses from England as reported by Public Health England and matched to NHS commissioning regions as its source data to obtain information on daily cases. They have assumed that the daily incidence of COVID-19 can be modelled as an exponential growth, in line with what has been observed in Italy.  The most up-to-date information suggests the median length of time spent in an ICU is eight days.

The Cambridge model predicts that ICU demand in England could rise to levels which are impossible to supply with the current beds available very quickly – as early as within 2 weeks in some regions and with London at particular risk.

“If our assumptions are correct, ICU capacity may be complete overwhelmed very quickly in England,” added Dr Ercole, who is also a Fellow in Clinical Medicine at Magdalene College. “A large increase in ICU capacity is required extremely urgently if we are to be able to treat patients with life-threatening COVID-19 in the near future.”

The model makes a number of assumptions about the outbreak which may limit its accuracy, but is based on the best available data at the earliest time.

The team used data published by Public Health England. While the researchers acknowledge this data does not recognise all cases within the wider population, it is likely to include the vast majority of severe cases, on which the models specifically focus. Changes over time in World Health Organization case definitions and in surveillance strategies may also overestimate ICU admission rates as milder cases were not identified initially and would artificially inflate the forecast numbers.

They have forecast the percentage COVID-19 bed requirements in isolation. In reality, all ICUs will need to continue to provide ‘business as usual’ care for other types of patients. Since UK bed occupancy is typically greater than 80% and may frequently exceed 100%, the researchers say it is clearly not the case that all open beds can simply be re-allocated for COVID-19 patients.

They have also assumed that all adult critical care beds can be used for level 3 or mechanically ventilated ICU patients, which may not be possible; some specialist ICUs may not be able to reconfigure at all.

Listen to Dr Ercole on the Naked Scientists podcast.

Reference
Deasy, J et al. Forecasting Ultra-early Intensive Care Strain from COVID-19 in England. DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.19.20039057

It is essential that managers are attuned to the various personal needs of their colleagues at this time. The boundaries between work and personal life erode when we work from home and everyone will experience this situation in a different way, depending on their family situation, their dependants, and the various dimensions of their personalities.

This requires managers to put themselves in the shoes of their colleagues and take their perspective. There is a large amount of research into this idea of taking another person’s perspective, as this approach has found to have a range of positive consequences – in particular bringing people closer. Fundamentally it requires us all to be our most compassionate and caring selves. Here are five tips to help at this fraught time.

1. Understand the specifics of personal situations

For those who have no children or dependants to take care of, it might be easy to imagine coronavirus as something that has significantly cleared our agenda. Some may believe they are more focused working from home, without the usual office distractions.

But the reality for many will involve overseeing care for children and even home learning following the closure of their schools. This will be a daunting task. Others may also be stressed about loved ones they are separated from and who might be at high risk of suffering from the current pandemic.

2. Adapt work expectations

The abrupt shift in normal procedures requires managers to adapt their expectations of their workers, who may be less productive or finding it hard to focus. Managers should concentrate on listening more, given the lack of visible office signals, and adopt a softer management style that enables workers to explain their particular constraints and methods for adjusting to them.

It’s also important to remember that people might not be forthcoming on how the current turmoil is affecting their mental health. Managers need to be attuned to this so that organisations can offer support through their human resources departments or other channels.

3. Maintain contact and make it a routine

Constant communication channels need to be maintained and reinforced. Emails simply won’t replace the small talk and mundane workplace interactions that create a positive and friendly culture that enables organisations to move forward on work-related tasks.

One way to maintain contact and conviviality is to schedule regular video conferencing in which five minutes are allocated to each team member to share their feelings and experiences. Virtual coffee breaks planned at the same time every day can also do the trick, as they help recreate as much as possible a shared community experience. This will enable managers to gain a better perspective of how everyone is doing, because impressions and emotions are more likely to be shared in interpersonal and group communications.

4. Realise the loss of invisible social cues

We all communicate and interact through gestures and body language. This applies in the workplace as much as anywhere. When managing others, we do not even realise that our physical expression conveys almost as much as what we have to say.

In the current situation, most of these cues are now invisible. And behind the screen of a video conference many of the bodily signs we traditionally rely on will be lost. Managers must therefore consider how their messages are perceived and taken on board.

5. Make things even clearer

Managers need to be extra careful about what they intend to communicate, and be more explicit about their objectives, expectations and plans. Emails are more likely to be wrongly interpreted than in-person conversation, so managers should proofread their communications even more carefully – for tone as well as content. Even if you’ve worked alongside your colleagues for many years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to realise that they cannot read your mind.

This crisis will definitely change the way we manage and interact at work, whether this is through screens or physically. Embracing the idea of perspective taking is essential for managers to understand the particular situations and constraints of their workers, and provide the necessary support.

Ultimately, this shift in leadership expectations, more open channels of communication, and new routines will enable organisations to function in a human way, despite the forced social isolation.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Alongside equipment collected at the University itself, extra supplies are being sourced from around the globe by University departments, and donated by Cambridge alumni and a network of University partners, to make them accessible to local GP surgeries, clinics and hospitals.

The processing centre was created to receive, store and send on the equipment. Cambridge spin-out RedBite is providing ‘itemit’ object-tracking technology to log vital information about the donated equipment, ensure only NHS-approved items are forwarded on, and allow a wide range of local services to see what is available in real-time and order what they need.

Supplies at the University’s processing centre are limited and only available to local services. Organisations or individuals able to donate any of the following items can make contact through the University’s dedicated webpage: Face masks (FFP2 and FFP3), disposable surgical masks (type IIR and splash resistant) face visors, hand sanitiser (60% alcohol minimum), water-resistant gowns, hazmat suits, antibacterial wipes, reusable googles and protective glasses.

The operation to co-ordinate PPE donations, which was set up in less than five days, is part of the University’s response to the coronavirus emergency, alongside the work of its researchers to help understand and control the new infection, and its engineers offering expert advice to firms manufacturing ventilators.

So far, equipment has been donated by, among others, the University’s School of the Biological Sciences, the departments of Zoology, Pharmacology and Chemistry, the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, and the city’s science parks. University alumni and partners have already supplied equipment and have promised to send more.

Professor Andy Neely OBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations, who is leading the operation, said: "The response to this emergency by the University community has been incredible. When the seriousness of the situation became clear, staff in labs across the University began collecting up all available protective equipment so it could be used by NHS clinicians treating COVID-19 patients.

"And when our alumni and partners joined in it soon became clear we needed a more co-ordinated approach to make sure the right equipment was made available to local services. The infrastructure has now been set up to deal with all of the promised donations – some of which have already arrived - and we’re ready to go.

"Tackling this outbreak will require unprecedented local, national and international efforts, and the University is committed to providing all the resources and expertise it can to support that."

Cambridge graduate and Trinity College alumnus Professor Yang Xia, a former member of the University’s General Board of the Faculties who spent 10 years in the city, has personally donated a shipment of face masks.

Professor Xia, now Deputy Chairman　at　Shandong　Yingcai　University in China, said: "I certainly hope that the face masks will help. It was the least I should do; the University feels like my second home. I only regret that it wasn't easier for me to get hold of even more supplies in the first instance, so I could be sending yet more!"

Meanwhile, the University’s Postdoctoral and Entrepreneurial Societies have rallied to create digital well-being and support channels for the wider community. And following the closure of University cafes, the University Catering Service donated food for free lunches for local NHS staff, as well as to Jimmy’s Cambridge, which supports the homeless.